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Highly transmissible Covid Delta variant detected in 96 countries, says WHO

Furthermore, a recent study conducted in Scotland and published in the international medical journal Lancet found that the hospitalization rate for patients infected with the Delta variant of COVID-19 was 85 per cent higher than for those infected with the Alpha variant.

“This particular Delta variant is faster, it is fitter, it will pick off the more vulnerable more efficiently than previous variants,” Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, has commented recently.

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AIA Group picks up 24.99% stake in China Post Life Insurance

Lee Yuan Siong, AIA’s Group Chief Executive and President, said: “The Chinese insurance market is already the second-largest in the world with immense long-term growth opportunities given the protection gap of more than US$40 trillion6. This unique investment in China Post Life enables AIA to capture additional areas of growth and benefit from the substantial potential for value creation.

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MS&AD becomes the first Japanese insurer to adopt coal exit policy

Yuki Tanabe, Program Director at the Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES), said: “We welcome MS&AD’s announcement to completely end insurance underwriting for new coal-fired power generation projects, and urge other Japanese non-life insurers, such as Tokio Marine and Sompo, to establish similar policies immediately.”

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Delta variant forces new lockdowns across world as Europe eases curbs

Bangladesh announced that it would impose a new national lockdown from Monday over the variant, with offices shut for a week and only medical-related transport allowed. Sydney’s normally bustling harbourside centre was nearly deserted after people were ordered to stay home except for essential trips.

New Zealand, citing “multiple outbreaks” in Australia, announced a three-day suspension of its quarantine-free travel arrangement with its larger neighbour.

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Merchant ship crews still stuck at sea amid Pandemic

Some have been stranded for as long as 20 months, which contravenes the International Labor Organization’s Maritime Labour Convention, which allows a maximum of 11 monthsMore than 80% of world trade is transported by sea, meaning seafarers play a critical role in global commerce. The International Chamber of Shipping estimates that 200,000 are affected by travel restrictions, either stuck at sea or unable to leave home to get to their ships.

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Oz, Israel were Covid success stories till Delta strain struck

In Australia, around a million people in four eastern and central Sydney neighbourhoods, which include Bondi Beach, were ordered to stay home for at least a week as total infections in an outbreak connected to the Delta variant topped 60. The lockdown is a shock for a population that had returned to relative normality after months of recording few cases.

Israel, which has prided itself on having one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns, has seen infections surge since dropping a requirement to wear masks in enclosed public places 10 days ago.

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